The government envisions having a modern and productive sea and land agricultural sector by 2025 that utilizes natural resources in an overall sustainable manner and acts as an effective basis for inter-sectorial linkages.
To actualize this, the National Irrigation Master Plan has identified a potential area for irrigation development as 29.4 million hectares.
Tanzania is currently implementing and planning to implement a number of irrigation projects, whereby USD106.26 million is allocated to the development of small-scale irrigation systems, USD183 million to the rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation schemes and USD50 million to large-scale irrigation development in land and promoting open discussions for future government benefits and commitments for Blue Economy sector as a high government priority for the future of Tanzania.
The land is a vital asset in ensuring food security, and among the 9 main food crops in Tanzania are maize, sorghum, millet, rice, wheat, beans, cassava, potatoes, and bananas.
The 6 main cash crops are cashew nuts, coffee, cotton, sisal, tea, and tobacco.
The agricultural industry makes a large contribution to the country's foreign exchange earnings, with more than USD1 billion in earnings from cash crop exports.
At one point in its agricultural history, Tanzania was the largest producer of sisal in the world.
